King Diamond: YouTube Theater - Los Angeles, CA - 11/29/24

Danish heavy metal legend King Diamond made his long-awaited return to the USA. With him, he brought New Jersey thrash metal icons Overkill and California heavy metal band, Night Demon. King Diamond had returned with some new music and a brand-new stage production. This tour would be called Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920. A Friday night in Los Angeles spent with the King is perfect way to end the work week as metal maniacs from all over Southern California traveled to witness one of metal’s best musicians and vocalists.
The venue was nicely packed with fans as curtains covered the stage in order to hide the stage production. The lights went out and the fans cheered with excitement. The intro track “Funeral” started over the speakers. The curtains lifted to reveal the band on stage with King Diamond himself front and center stage. In front of him was a coffin and he held a doll that represents the character of Abigail from his second album of the same name. King Diamond stabs then drops Abigail into the coffin. After that, the first song begins. The first song is “Arrival” from the same album. Right away, you can hear the band’s classic heavy metal sound. King Diamond unleashes his signature falsetto singing upon the Los Angeles crows which is super easy to get into. King Diamond next played the classic “A Mansion in Darkness” and Voodoo.” Helping out with background vocals is the artist known as Myrkur. The stage was a very impressive setup made to look like a mansion complete with staircases and gate. King Diamond brought up the fact that they were currently working on new music which will be released in 2025. The first of the new songs played was “Spider Lilly.” After that, King Diamond continued with the classics which included “Sleepless Nights,” and “The Candle.” A familiar intro track called “Out from the Asylum” started over the speakers and fans knew what was coming next. The next song played was the classic “Welcome Home” and it featured an elderly woman coming out in a wheelchair which fit the theme of the song featuring King Diamond’s grandmother in the album’s story. The next song was “The Invisible Guests” and is the follow up song to “Welcome Home.” King Diamond once again brought up that they are coming out with a double album next year and would introduce two more new songs. The first song was “Masquerade of Madness” followed by “Electro Therapy.” Seeing King Diamond perform live and seeing all the props brought on stage is like watching a horror movie. Nearing the end of the show, King Diamond played “Eye of the Witch” and then ended the show with “Burn.” The band said their goodbyes, then left the stage. After a quick break, the band came back out for one more song. The last song of the night was “Abigail” and it featured King Diamond bringing out the Abigail doll during the performance. The show ended, the band said their goodbyes once again, then left the stage. It was amazing having King Diamond return to the states and hopefully it’s not long before he returns to once again haunt the U.S.A.